1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to network-based information services, e.g. online shopping services and information search services, provided on the Internet or other networks.
2. Description of Related Art
Since utilization of the Internet is rapidly diffused, general users without expertise in computers routinely use network services such as information search and online shopping. By diffusion of mobile phones, Internet access from the mobile phones is also rapidly diffused. Usually Internet access is done by using various web browser. However, users not accustomed to operating computers have difficulty operating the web browsers because the web browsers have many menus. Conversely, it is difficult to viewably display web pages on screens of the mobile phone with limited space.
Therefore various technologies for easily operating browsers e.g. IP3 are provided. IP3 allows embedding of merchandise information or search result in image data and extraction of the embedded information. Search services for searching image information such as Infoseek (Registered Trademark) are provided. Since search results are displayed by icons, users can select necessary information by intuition.
Taking the state into consideration, it is expected that icons and images representing merchandise information (hereinafter referred to as merchandise icons) are distributed on the Internet.
Meanwhile, various shared-information types among users are provided on the Internet. For example, mailing list and electronic bulletin board are shared-information types.
Software allowing text-based chat among users browsing the same Web Page e.g. “gooey” is also provided. Furthermore, systems allowing chat among users entering the same virtual electronic meeting room such as IRC and “Web chat” are provided.
In case of “gooey,” by chatting with a user browsing the same Web Page, one can share information with the user having the same hobbies and purpose, and therefore can effectively collect information and make friends. However, in case of information share per Web Page, users cannot always do chat fitting for their purpose because purposes of users accessing a Web Page is broad. Similar problems occur in other shared-information types.